Updated 12 November 2026
The official way to check a licensed payment service provider in Kenya is to search the Central Bank of Kenya’s directory of authorized payment service providers, not an app-store listing or a till number. The file CBK was still linking from its payments pages when checked on 12 November 2026 is the Directory of Authorized Payment Service Providers (PSPs) as at August 10, 2026. The PDF is 9 pages and is marked “C2: CBK – Official”. Its metadata shows it was created on 7 September 2026. CBK’s directory landing page and its National Payments System page both pointed to that August 2026 file. Later autumn filenames were not on the server when checked.
On a count of that official PDF, the list is numbered 1 to 44. This guide does not paste the names. Search the exact legal name. A later official directory would supersede the 10 August 2026 edition. A money remittance provider, a forex bureau or a commercial bank is not a payment service provider merely because it can move money.
On this page
In this guide
What a payment-service-provider authorisation is
On the official Directory of Payment Service Providers page, checked on 12 November 2026, CBK says it has published the directory of payment service providers that are authorised pursuant to the National Payment System Act, 2011. The official title of the PDF uses “authorized”, not “licensed”. This guide uses both words so that you can match the legal name on the official list. The landing page is the public pointer; the PDF is the list to search.
If you are collecting money through a wallet, a merchant till or a payment app, the legal name behind that product should match a name on the official PSP list, or you should have a written explanation from CBK for why it does not. A familiar brand, a Lipa Na M-Pesa till or an app icon is not, by itself, the licence record. Guides such as our notes on receiving money from abroad on M-Pesa and on tax on M-Pesa transaction fees explain how particular products work. They are not a substitute for the official directory.
How to search for a licensed payment service provider in Kenya
Download the official list of a licensed payment service provider in Kenya — the 10 August 2026 PDF — from centralbank.go.ke rather than a republished copy. Open it in a reader and use search (Ctrl+F or Command+F) for the exact legal name on the contract, the till or the app. Try “Limited”, “PLC” and the product brand if the first search fails, then confirm with CBK rather than guessing. The “Institution” column is the one that has to match. A website or a product name in the same entry is supporting detail, not a second licence.
Each entry typically records a postal address, telephone, email, website, physical address, the date first licensed, a named chief executive or managing director, and an “Approved Services” column. Those fields help you match the institution. The approved-services wording is not the same for every row. Some entries describe issuing, processing, storing, sending and facilitating mobile-money payments and providing a merchant-payment platform. Others describe owning or operating payment infrastructure, receiving parking payments, or processing SWIFT payments on behalf of banks. Read the printed wording for the name you are checking. A telephone number or website in an August 2026 directory is not, by itself, proof that a later WhatsApp number belongs to the same firm.
The file we checked is 9 pages. It was created on 7 September 2026 and was still the edition linked from CBK’s payments pages on 12 November 2026. Use it as the current official list unless and until CBK replaces it with a later directory.
What the 44 entries include, and what they omit
The official PDF is numbered 1 to 44. That is the complete set of institutions in this edition of the directory of a licensed payment service provider in Kenya. This guide does not reproduce the 44 names and does not group them by the type of approved service. The source for those details is the PDF itself. If the legal name you were given is not one of the 44, do not treat a similar trading name as a match.
A footnote on the last page states that Moja Expressway Company Ltd operates a toll collection system for the Nairobi Expressway, and that the toll points are purchased through licensed payment service providers and banks, in the same way as payments to utility companies and other service providers. Moja Expressway is not a numbered entry on the 1-to-44 list. Do not add it as a 45th authorised PSP on the strength of that note.
The list also does not say whether a provider is under any special supervisory measure, and it does not publish fees or wallet limits. A name on the list is official evidence that CBK included that institution in the 10 August 2026 directory, with the approved services printed beside it. It is not a finding that a particular agent, till or social-media account belongs to the provider.
How this sits with other licences and products
CBK keeps the payment-service-provider directory separate from the money-remittance-provider list, the foreign-exchange-bureau list and the commercial-bank and microfinance-bank directories. A remittance shop or a bureau that changes cash is not a payment service provider unless it also appears on this 44-name file. A bank may offer payment services under its own banking licence; that service is not automatically a PSP on this PDF.
If you cannot find a licensed payment service provider in Kenya of that legal name on the 10 August 2026 list, ask CBK before you rely on the wallet or the till. A product guide, a tax note or a supplier-onboarding page is not the official authorisation record.
Who to contact at CBK
The official contact page, checked on 12 November 2026, says communication to the Central Bank of Kenya should be addressed to Haile Selassie Avenue, P.O. Box 60000-00200, Nairobi, Kenya. Published numbers include +254 20 286 0000, +254 20 286 1000, +254 20 286 3000, +254 709 081 000 and +254 709 083 000. The page also lists comms@centralbank.go.ke.
When you write, include the exact legal name you were given, the document or app on which it appears, and the date you searched the 10 August 2026 directory. The official list answers a narrow question: is this name among the 44 institutions in the current Directory of Authorized Payment Service Providers, and what approved services are printed beside it? It does not, on its own, set a fee or approve a payment.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the official payment-service-provider list?
On centralbank.go.ke, as a PDF titled Directory of Authorized Payment Service Providers as at August 10, 2026, created on 7 September 2026 and still linked from CBK’s payments pages when checked on 12 November 2026. That file is the current official list of a licensed payment service provider in Kenya. Search that file. A later official directory would replace it.
How many authorized payment service providers are on the list?
The official 10 August 2026 PDF is numbered 1 to 44. That count is for this edition of the directory of a licensed payment service provider in Kenya only. The Moja Expressway footnote is not a 45th numbered entry.
Is this the same as a money remittance provider?
No. CBK keeps a separate official directory for money remittance providers. A firm can appear on one list without appearing on the other.
Does a bank automatically count as a payment service provider?
Not automatically. A commercial bank appears, if at all, in CBK’s commercial-bank directory. A payments firm belongs on this 44-name file only if CBK included it in this edition.
Prefer WhatsApp? Follow Business Radar on WhatsApp
We will email you a weekly money and business brief. We store your email (and your name, if you give one) for that purpose, under the Kenya Data Protection Act, 2019. You can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy policy.
